Night vision - Bushnell Equinox 6 x 50 monocular

[jay]

I recently picked one of these up and gave it a try over the weekend.  I thought I would post my findings on it here for anyone interested.  

This model prices just under $300.00.  All in all, I think it is a very good value for the money.  It has regular 6 power magnification and an additional 3X digital zoom.  It can be used during the day as well as having a strong IR light for night time use.  It weighs in at roughly 27 oz. and uses 4 AA batteries.  There is also a micro USB port that allows you to use  rechargeable battery packs with it.  The equinox also has built in camera and video recording functions.  It can be mounted on a standard camera tripod for more stable use.  This model also supports a 32 GB micro SD card (necessary to use record feature).

Range wise, I could easily view 250-300 yards with the IR function.  The light does everything that is advertised.

There are some cons to this model, as well.  The camera leaves a bit to be desired, I think, especially at night.  It is very hard to get clear pictures using it without a tripod.  Recording seems to work better and I think I will simply use that function and then grab still shots from the video.  Also, I have not found a function where you can view the photos and video taken on the monocular yet.  I have had to download them to a computer to view.

I don't have anything as far as battery life yet, I did use it for a solid 3 hours and still have battery power left.  All of the reviews I read prior to buying recommended using rechargeable batteries.

I am overall very satisfied with this monocular, I do think it is a good buy for the price.  Am looking forward to getting some nighttime wildlife footage.  I will be sure to share should I get anything really interesting.

Overall, I would rate it 4 out of 5, My comments about the camera and photo viewing are the only reason I don't give it a 5 at this time.

Feel free to ask any questions regarding this, I will try to answer them.